We’ve looked at Saturday’s game through reports, highlights and reaction but what about analysing the match through the lens of statistics.
Check out our analytical verdict below.
40 UP FOR HAALAND
Erling Haaland has made it to 40 Premier League goals faster than anyone in the competition’s history.
He won the Golden Boot across 2022/23 by hitting 36 of them, the most Premier League goals ever in one season, surpassing the previous best of 34 from Alan Shearer and Andrew Cole.
He scored two on the opening fixture of 2023/24 in the 3-0 victory over Burnley before bagging another in the 2-1 win away at Sheffield United.
His 40th put us 3-1 ahead against Fulham before another two elevated him to 42 goals since joining us in the summer of 2022.
Haaland managed to hit 40+ in 39 top-flight matches, which is six quicker than Shearer and Cole who reached the landmark in 45 games.
Congratulations Erling.
BULLSEYE FOR HAALAND
As well as his 40 goals, Erling Haaland has now also reached over 50 goal involvements.
He’s now at 51 - that’s made up of 42 goals and 9 assists.
And they’ve come in just 39 appearances in the Premier League, breaking Andrew Cole’s record of 43 games to become the fastest player to reach 50 goals and assists in the competition.
CLINICAL CITY
City were clinical in the 5-1 win over Fulham – and we have the stats to prove it.
Those five goals – Alvarez, Ake, Haaland (3) – came from only seven total shots against Fulham.
The last team in Europe’s five major leagues to score five goals from a maximum of seven shots was Leicester, ironically against City, in September 2020.
That afternoon finished 5-2 to the Foxes at the Etihad.
TRIPLE TRIO
It wasn’t just Erling Haaland who bagged a hat-trick on Saturday.
As well as Haaland’s treble, Son Heung-min scored three for Tottenham in the 5-2 win at Burnley while Evan Ferguson hit three for Brighton in their 3-1 home victory over Newcastle.
That’s only the second time three different players have scored a Premier League hat-trick on the same day.
The last time was 23 September 1995.
The hat-tricks came from Tony Yeboah, Robbie Fowler and Alan Shearer.
Yeboah scored three in a 4-2 Leeds away win at Wimbledon, Fowler hit his treble in Liverpool’s 5-2 win over Bolton at Anfield while Shearer bagged his three in a 5-1 home win for Blackburn over Coventry.
GOOD RUN AGAINST FULHAM
Fulham have joined Watford as teams that City have the longest winning run against.
City’s 5-1 victory over Fulham put us on 15 consecutive wins over the Cottagers in all competitions, which is the same set of victories as against the Hornets.
That’s the biggest winning run of any team in either the Premier League or Football League.
Those triumphs against the Cottagers have come in 12 Premier League games, 2 FA Cup matches and one League Cup encounter.
The run against Fulham traces back to September 2011, when we drew 2-2 at Craven Cottage.
We went 2-0 up after a brace by Sergio Aguero but Bobby Zamora and a Vincent Kompany own-goal ensured parity at full-time.
